Beyond The Land of Clouds
by 2tree-antidote
Summary: Kabegami bears three heirs to her throne,tragedy befalls the Celestial Plains,two of the heirs die of a illness,and when Kabegami falls,the gods must make a decision...this is the story of Yumi the remaining heir and her mortal life...i hate summaries
1. Chapter 1

Beyond the Land of Clouds

_The land of Nippon seemed in peace after Amaterasu's battle with the dreaded Dark Lord, Yami. She and the Waka, the sole survivor of the Moon Tribe whom had brought darkness onto the world for years, had returned to the Celestial Plains, Waka's error long forgotten. They were greeted by the other brush gods, Yomigami the dragon god of restoration, Tachigami the rat god of Power Slash, Sakigami, Hasugami, and Tsutagami the monkey gods of the Hanagami trio of Bloom, Water Lily, and Vine and Bakugami the boar god of the Cherry Bomb. Also in the group were Nuregami the snake god of Waterspout, Yumigami the rabbit god of Crescent, Kazegami the horse god of Galestorm, Moegami the rooster god of Inferno, and Kasugami the sheep god of Mist. Last but not least were Gekigami the tiger god of Thunder, Itegami the ox god of Blizzard, and Kabegami the cat god of Wallwalk._

_Now each day in the Celestial Plains equaled up to one month in the human world so Amaterasu was not aware that Kabegami had given birth to the three future heirs of her throne, though once she found out she prayed that the warmth of the sun would always be in their reach, no matter where they were. They had seemed so strong for such little bundles._

_But one day the three of them stumbled into a cursed zone that was accidentally left untaken care of. Kabegami managed to find them in time, and with the help of Gekigami, she was able to take them home but they soon fell ill. Two of them, dubbed Breeze and Cloud could only be save if turned into ordinary cats and so they were and they would not remember their lives as a gods offspring. The one remaining daughter was strong and was left as heir to Kabegami's throne. Then the unexplainable happens two days later. Kabegami gets caught in a battle with a clan of Great Tengu. She was gravely injured and hadn't the strength to even call out for help, she dies alone. Once the gods had been informed of this by a messenger of the gods, they mourned for the loss of a dear friend silently yet with heavy hearts._

_It was afterwards, when they heard a piteous mew, which they remembered that the last remaining heir was too young to take over. They all knew that Kabegami's dying wish would have been that they protect her precious daughter at all costs. They quickly decided that it would be best to sent her to the human world to live in peace and protection until the time was right. Amaterasu immediately knew where to send her, Himiko's palace in Sei-an City. It was decided and that night the deed was done_

_Himiko found the eight year-old girl, named Yumi, in her garden nearly dead. Himiko nursed Yumi back to health and soon decided that Yumi would be welcomed as part of the Yamotai family, Himiko had a new little sister. At the age of twenty at the time, Himiko's life had been filled with tragedy until then. It seemed that life would go on in happiness forever._

_But this was not so because four years later Himiko was forced off the throne by a group of thieves led by a dictator named Sotai. Himiko was left to live in the commoners quarters of Sei-an because he had a plan that would leave Himiko heartbroken, this was a plan to complete his taking of the throne. He decided to adopt Yumi as a daughter of his own orders so Himiko was left with nothing. Luckily, the people of Sei-an were against the new king and they helped build Himiko her place to call home and it didn't take long to adapt. It was Yumi who would suffer for, Sotai knew she would grow to be beautiful and he planned to sell her for a high price or marry her to a rich family, he was a cruel and greedy man. And so he renamed her Hiraku, Princess Hiraku._

_By the age of thirteen she would run away for long periods of time to work for free as long as she could get away from him and to visit her dear sister Himiko. People found that she was exceptionally strong so they all gathered with the Tao Troopers and they all agreed that the Tao Troopers would give Yumi battle training to help her fight if necessary. So she learned to be adept with a katana and a pro with a bow and arrow, the commoners thought she was extraordinary, to skillful and kind for the gruesome King Sotai. So by the end of the year she was leading two separate lives, she only wished that she could get away from that wretched place and actually marry someone she truly loved, not be some spoiled prince's trophy wife._

_Ah, but this is where the story really begins, when Yumi has matured to the age of turning fifteen in six days, things would get a whole lot more difficult… _


	2. Chapter 2

"They won't find me…they can't…its impossible…"

Yumi said as she ran at an incredible speed through Sei-an's commoners quarters. She was then tripped by a seemingly invisible object and she then heard the dreaded words she didn't want to hear. "You're it!!!"

Abe said. He then added in a serious tone, "You thought you could escape from me, ha tough luck."

and he started walking when suddenly he too was tripped. The last thing he saw was Yumi running towards the city gate. She then turned and shouted, "You're it hahahaha!!!!"

Abe then shouted back, "Hey, that's cheating!!!"

But of course she didn't hear him for she was running full speed.

Yumi was just running off the stone dock a little ways off from Sei-an's gates, her long brown hair waving in response to the breeze off the coast while the strong sun made it shine brilliantly. Her gray-blue eyes scanned the area with confidence in response to her success at winning the game of tag. Then something caught her eye, in a patch of grass lay a boy about her age. He seemed at peace, as if he were sleeping in the shade of the tree while enjoying the warmth of the sun. As she ran towards the boy she gave a gasp, imp demons were surrounding the boy. She hurriedly prepared for battle then launched her attack on the first imp…

………

"…_I wish I had a bouquet of flowers to present to you at this farewell. But alas I must part with you empty-handed, please forgive me. Farewell good sir, and good luck…"_

_With that said, the demonic being then ceased glowing and fell to the ground, its form shown to be no more than a slip of paper._

"_Tobi…"a green bouncing sprite said, "It was more than a petty little race."_

_And with the farewell over, the green sprite left on the back of a majestic white wolf…_

It felt as if he had been in the brink of nothingness for an eternity or longer. His soul seemed as if floating in the black abyss forever but suddenly a glimmer of light shown. It moved closer and closer until it consumed him in, light.

He felt warmth on what seemed to be skin he couldn't see, had he been saved from the dark? He felt warm yet cold to the very marrow of his bones or worse, he felt alone. He dared to open his eyes but did not do so, he waited. Once he felt himself courageous enough he finally opened his eyes. He was met by a blinding light and a shadow above him. He blinked several times to clear his vision and identified the shadow as a girl and the light was the sun that had warmed his skin. The girl then turned around when she heard the rustle of grass and held out a hand to help him up.

………

As she stared at this boy she thanked the gods for guiding her to the coast for if she hadn't arrived, who knows what they would have done to him. She pushed that thought aside as she kept staring at him for the longest time, as if time itself had stopped. He had the most peculiar eyes, a mixture of a sunset colored orange mixed with a crimson red, a much stronger color than her cool colored eyes. Yumi snapped herself out of her dazed state and I a cheery tone she said, "Hiya, my names Yumi. You know being out here and taking a nap at a time like this could be dangerous, you know. By the way I didn't catch your name."

Very coolly he replied "My name is Tobi and it's a pleasure to meet a new friend. I'm glad to meet you Yumi."


	3. Chapter 3

"So what _were_ you doing out here any way Tobi?"

Yumi was still confused as to why he would take such a foolish risk. Tobi's face looked confused yet forlorn, "To tell you the truth I don't know…I just woke up and there you were right in front of me. I don't know any of my past actually, not even where I can from. All I remember is darkness…" Yumi quickly knew not to push the subject and eventually heard Tobi speak again, "What were you doing out here if it's so dangerous?"

"I was playing a bit of tag with my friend and I decided to hide out here when all of a sudden I just saw you lying there. At first I thought you were dead but I saw you breathing and well, the next thing I knew there were demon imps surrounding you so I fought them off…"

Tobi then had a look of worry on his face, "You're not hurt are you?"

"It's a minor injury don't worry…."

But Tobi could see her struggling to keep balance and hurriedly helped her lean against his shoulder. Yumi then stuttered, "Th-thanks."

He then checked her wound and gave a shocked gasp, "This is no minor injury! You haven't stopped bleeding and the gash is big so we'd better hurry"

………

When they reach the city they were met by Abe, "What happened to you?!?"

Yumi then straightened her stance and punched him on the arm.

"Well if you had gone looking for me you would have found me now take me to my sister!!!"

A short argument and fight later they arrived at Himiko's house. Yumi immediately burst through the door, ran toward Himiko, and gave her a hug. "How have you been as of late sister?"

Himiko's voice was like a harp, soothing and soft. "I'm fine but I won't be for long and you should know why."

"Ah yes, your birthday will arrive soon, will it not?"

Yumi's face showed nothing but anger and frustration, "Yeah, and I'm more than positive that after that day King Fruity will be more than happy to arrange meetings with prices to get me married but I will rebel," Yumi stood tall and proud, "I will fight and send those princes packing!!!"

Himiko then gave an astonished gasp, "You are wounded, let me heal you."

She took out her crystal ball and placed it near Yumi. The wound then immediately closed and now all that was left was to clean it. Abe suddenly spoke up, "I have some interesting gossip for you Yumi."

Instead of an interested face she held the expression of seriousness and Tobi felt utterly confused. Abe continued "The king and princesses are to attend a meeting in discussion of available prices to visit. They should be starting the meeting in approximately thirty minutes."

Yumi suddenly had a look of pure terror while Abe just laughed. She ran in circles around the house trying to think of what to do, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!"

Tobi then saw her run at full speed out the door to only she knew where and then an idea popped into his head '_I could use a good run_' and he smirked, running off to catch up with her.

"By the way Abe, who was that boy anyways?"

Abe just shrugged "Beats me."

………

When Tobi caught up to her they were in the aristocratic quarters heading towards the palace. At first he had absolutely no idea where she was but then she reappeared only she had a blue and grayish kimono on while running and he wondered how in the world she could do that. But eventually she collapsed where they were at the moment because of course the wound on her side just had to reopen. He then ran up to her and picked her up. The wound was bleeding heavily and he knew she wouldn't be able to run the rest so he asked, "Where to?"

She hastily answered, "Imperial Palace and step on it."

So he ran on.

………

"What is this outrage!?!?"

Sotai shouted in the throne room upon the appearance of Yumi being carried by Tobi. "Father, leave him be. He…"

"He what?" Sotai asked, angered by this un-royal act. "He…he saved me from demons."

Tobi had to admit that was a good come back. He then added "I give my humblest of apologies, good sir."

"I should hope so but I am thankful in the fact that you saved my poor daughter, Hiraku."

Sotai then smiled and exclaimed "I like you already boy! How would you like to join the Tao Troopers!?! You seem to be good enough if you escaped the battle without injury!"

"Th-thank you good sir. I accept your offer."

Sotai then chuckled and formed a plan '_this boy will prove to be useful in the future_' but his thoughts were interrupted by a shrill scream, "Daddy!!! Where are my handmaidens!?!"

Yumi knew that sound well and quickly whispered, "Here comes the typhoon, it Kiya. Let's get out of here before trouble starts. Quick, go out the door and to the left, hurry!!!"

They hurriedly snuck out and left Sotai to his precious young daughters ranting…


End file.
